Tag Archives: bikes el paso

The City of El Paso is creating a comprehensive bike plan which will determine how bike lanes, bike share, and other bike amenities all fit together with existing transportation infrastructure to enhance connectivity throughout our city.

El Paso’s bike plan will serve as a guide to determining which streets are best for bicycling and how to make those streets safer for cycling. The bike plan will also update elements from the city’s nationally-recognized comprehensive plan, Plan El Paso.

The first step toward updating the city’s existing bike plan, which was written in 1982, involves gathering input from El Pasoans. Residents can make their voice heard at the Bike Plan Community Outreach Kick-Off at Chalk the Block from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 10, 2015.

The project team will have an informational booth set up at the corner of Franklin Avenue and El Paso Street in Downtown El Paso. Residents will also be able to learn about an innovative bike facility and talk with members of the project team. Bike plan consultants will be on hand to discuss bikeway treatments and the sample bike facility markings will be chalked on the street as part of the event.

“This is the first step we’re taking toward learning more about what El Pasoans want to see and experience when it comes to being a bike-friendly city,” said Paul Wojciechowski, Principal with Alta Planning + Design, the country’s largest and most experienced bicycle transportation, planning, design and implementation firm which has been retained by the city to help build the plan.

“The plan will focus on roadways throughout the entire city and will also look at the connections El Paso’s roadways make to its neighboring municipalities for regional connections.”

“As our city grows and as we turn our focus toward quality of life, a more bicycle-friendly and sustainable city can mean reduced emissions from vehicles, reduced traffic congestion and safer, more attractive roads to walk and bike along,” said Justin Bass, Project Manager for the City of El Paso.

While the City of El Paso is building its bike plan, other agencies are also undertaking bicycle planning efforts. The El Paso Metropolitan Planning Organization is developing its multi-modal plan looking to identify gaps in the existing transportation network for bicycles, pedestrians and transit.

The Texas Department of Transportation is also undergoing a planning effort to prioritize and prepare conceptual designs and costs for state-owned roadways in El Paso. The City of El Paso Bike Planning process includes close coordination with these two planning efforts.

The City’s Bike Plan will focus on city streets, but will also carefully consider connections to regional bikeways and linkages and crossings of state roadways.

Team members will also be available to answer any questions or concerns El Pasoans might have about their upcoming bike plan.

Other open houses and community meetings will be held at locations around the city in the coming months.

To learn more about the city’s bike plan, visit elpasotexas.gov/bikeplan . To stay up to date on developments regarding the bike plan and the city’s other city capital improvement programs, text ELPASOCIP to 22828.